Trace-buckle



(No Model.)

. J. OBRIEN.

TRACE BUCKLE. Patented Nov. 25, 1884.

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JAMES OBBIEN, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

TRACE-BUCKLE.

EJLIJIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 308,515, dated November 25, 1884.

Application filed October 3, 1894. (Nomodcl.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMns OBRIEN, a citizen of the United States, and aA resident of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and the State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trace- Buckles, of which the following is a specification.

Figure l is a side view. Fig. 2 is a front view, and Fig. 3 is a plan view, of the buckle disconnected from the trace and other parts of the harness. Fig. 4 is a central vertical longitudinal section ofthe buckle, showing the trace and hame-tug arranged therein and Fig. 5 is a plan view ofthe same.

A A2 represent the side bars or main frame, having the usual side loops, a a2, on the outer edges. rlhe front and rear ends of these side bars, A A2, are connected, respectively, by a front bar, B, and a rear bar, B2, while aloopbar, C, connects the upper edges of the sides A A2 about midway between the bars B and B2. v

D is the tugbar,to which the haine-tug E is V attached, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The rear ends ofthe sides A A2 curve upward, as shown at b b2, so that the rear bar, B2, will be above the plane of the main parts of the bars A A2 and the front bar, B. The loop-bar O will be connected at its ends to the side bars, A A2,

. by small standards cl cl2, (see Figs. l, 2, and

4,) so that it will come in substantially the same plane as the bar B2, as shown. rlhe tugbar D is arranged in a line below the plane of the side bars, A A2, as shown, so that the hame-tug E will pass freely below the bar B without bending. The bar B is provided at its center with a stud or tongue, F, projecting at right angles therefrom, over which the trace G will be caught by the graduated holes e, as shown in Fig. 5. rlhe ends of the trace G will be carried underneath the bar B2 and loop C, and over the tops of the bars D and B, and caught by one of its holes e over the tongue F, while the eXtreme end will beinserted beneath a loop, H, on strap E. By merely bending thetrace G outward at a point opposite the tongue F until the trace is free from the tongue the trace may be moved along and shortened or'lengthened at will.

K is the breechingstrap loop, which is formed upon the rear bar, B2.

All the parts of the buckle are formed in one piece, usually of malleable iron, but :may be made of any desired metal.

I claim several vvery important advantages by this arrangement of the parts ofthe buckle. By arranging the tug-bar D forward of the rear bar, B2, the trace pulls toward the tngbar, while the hame tug pulls toward the tongue-bar B, hence the strains on the buckle are of a crushing or compressing nature, while in all other buckles with which I am acquainted the strains are tensile or expansive. This arrangement permits me to use less metal in the frame of the buckle and in the bars, and thereby form them at lessexpense and of a less weight. By this arrangement,'also, the hame -tug E passes backward beneath the tongue-bar B', hence the latter is more rmly supported thereby and prevented from sinking away from the trace G and disconnecting the tongue F from the trace. The loop C also serves an important function in this connection, as it also assistsin holding the trace down upon the bar B and prevents the accidental disunion of the trace and tongue.

It frequently happens that the harness becomes entangled when horses are being turned too short, or in event of runaways or other accidents, under which circumstances the disunion ofthe hame-tugs and traces leads to serious results; but by my arrangement this cannot occur, as the pressure of the loop C on the upper side ofthe trace, and the support given to the under side of the tongue-bar B by the hame -tug E, prevent such accidental disunion. Another important advantage is that so large a space exists between the bar D and loop C that the thickest trace may be inserted therein, while at the same time it is equally available for thin traces.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new isl. A trace-buckle composed of side bars, a cross-bar provided with a tongue connecting said side bars at one end, aloop-bar connected with said side bars back of said cross-bar, substantially as set forth, whereby-it is in a plane above that ofthe cross-bar, and a tug-bar con- IOC) neoted with said side bars between the cross-bar and loop-bar, subsiAntiallj,7 as set forth, Whereby it is in a plane'helow that of the cross-har, Substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

2. A trace-buckle composed of side bars, A A2, a cross-bar, B', provided with an upward lyextending tongue, F, a tug-har, D, and aloop-bar, C, all of said bars connecting said side hars, and being located, substantially as set forth, so that the tug-har is between the other tWo bars, and the three bars are n different vertical planes, the loop bar being in the highest plane, the tug-bar in the lowest plane, and the ross-har in an intermediate plane, in combination with a-hametug secured to the tug-bar, and a trace, provided with a series of holes, which passes beneath the loophar and over the tug-bar and cross-bar, its

holes engaging with the tongue F, substan-V JAMES OBRIEN.

Vitn esses:

C. N. WooDWAizD, H. S. WEBSTER. 

